Wednesday, January 30, 2013

More Birthday Fun!

So after 4 days of MUCH anticipation, I got the pictures from Tinley's birthday party from our photographer. I LOVE THEM. I highly recommend to all of my gal pals out there that might be in full-force planning mode with your little man or girl's first (or second, or third!) birthday that you hire a photographer. Best decision ever. Even if you just have a friend or family member take pictures for you. Trust me, you won't regret it. We didn't have to worry about missing any of the moments that you want on camera, or have to spend time at the party on our phones or camera. And, she made sure to get at least one picture of everyone at the party. Our photographer was Jamie Meyers, owner of 1826 Photographic. She also happens to be a friend of our's, and used to work with Justin. You can check out her website here. Anyway, she took 155 pictures, so I've tried to narrow down some of my faves to share with you. Hope you enjoy. :o)


Putting her crown on Daddy

My birthday girl

Justin's dad, Mike, and stepdad, Bill

Lovin' her cupcake!

Tinley & Mamaw

The best girlfriends!

My mom and I

Mike, Justin, Kelly, Tinley, Pam, and Papaw Slater

She loves Tigger!

Justin, Kelly, Tinley, Debbie, and Jeff

Necessary birthday attire!

Deep in convo with Papaw Bill

Feeding daddy some cake

Absolutely love this one of Nana (Gloria, our friend Jeremy's mom) with Ashlyn!

Ashley, Justin's cousin, and her daughter, Laney

She liked her new Minnie bathing suit

Kelly, Justin, Carma, Tinley, and Bill

Tiney & Papa Jeffy

Happy girl!


They still make Cabbage Patch Kids!

This one is super cute! Tinley & Jamy

Just waiting for presents and holding her balloon

Tinley & GiGi

Proud parents of a 1 year old!

Her fantastic scrapbook Tia Carrie made her!



A BIG thank you to Jamie, all of the pics are fabulous! We are so lucky to have a sweet, talented friend like you! :o)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Tinley's Birthday Party

So, I'm back! It was a long weekend full of fun and family. My parents arrived Wednesday evening, and Justin's parents arrived Thursday evening. Thursday, Tinley's actual birthday, my mom and I spent the day running last minute errands for her party. That evening, Justin, Tinley, and I, along with my mom, Debbie, and stepdad, Jeff, Justin's mom, Carma, and stepdad, Bill, and Justin's dad, Mike, all had dinner at the 800 Club for Tinley's Birthday dinner. It was delicious, and none of our family had ever been there before. It's a quaint, well-known Italian restaurant in Sandusky with the best homemade pasta and Chianti you will ever taste. Jeff was still raving about his caesar salad yesterday before they left! Kyle even showed up (at a perfect time, as Tinley had been sitting in her highchair for wayyyy too long) and brought with him a huge bunch of balloons, including a Minnie balloon. Tinley loves Minnie! We all had a great time, but I'm sure the other couples in the restaurant were happy to see Tinley and her balloons leave!


Papa Jeffy babysat while mom and I ran errands. She was pretty content!

Kyle arrived with balloons!

Loving on Mamaw!

Showing off her balloons to Mamaw and GiGi

She just walked around the restaurant with her balloons. It was so funny.




Friday, my mom, Carma, and I took Tinley to the doctor for her 12 month check-up. She is as fit as a fiddle and developing perfectly. She's very small for her age, but trust me, she eats like there is no tomorrow, so the doctors have no worries. She's walking, and doing all the tricks she should be doing at her age. She even managed to leave without getting any shots! I didn't want to risk her being irritable for her party, so I'm taking her back next Friday morning for her round of shots. She always handles it better than I do, and it's probably a good thing I didn't do it with my mom and MIL there anyway! That afternoon, we all just relaxed, had lunch, talked, laughed, and put Tinley's new wagon from her Great Grandparents together. It was so nice having all of our family together, minus my dad, who's doing business in Germany. I'm so lucky everyone gets along and we never have a dull moment!



12 month check-up at the doctor

Tinley and Papaw (Justin's dad, Mike)

Papaw Bill & Papa Jeffy putting her wagon together, while Mamaw supervises. Tinley thinks she's a big help too!

She loves her new wagon! 



Saturday. The big day finally arrived! My mom and I once again ran a few errands, and arrived at the restaurant around 11 to get everything set-up and talk with the staff. We had her party at Weazy's Italian Eatery, formally known as Danny Boy's. It's one of our favorite restaurants, and we go there all the time. It's also close to our house, which was a plus, as we knew we would be carting a lot of loot back afterwards, and they have a private banquet room, which is where her party was. The staff there is so nice, and the food is amazing. We had all of our favorites laid out buffet style, including Justin's favorite, the buffalo chicken foldover, and my favorite, the BLT foldover. We also had pizzas, pastas, salad, and breadsticks. And of course, the beer and wine was flowing. It was better than I could have hoped for. All of our family and friends were there to help celebrate our baby girl's first birthday, a very important milestone. Justin's grandpa even drove from West Virginia Saturday morning to spend the day with us. He's the sweetest! I knew everything would be fine, even better than fine actually, with the fabulous team and support system I had behind me, but I was still stressed. I just wanted her first birthday to be fabulous, even if she doesn't remember it. We all will, right?! Besides, there are plenty of pictures! My girlfriend and photographer, Jamie Meyers, was there snapping pics of everything, from the little details, to opening gifts, and of course, the cake smash, so we didn't have to worry about missing anything. I'll hopefully get those images from her this week, but for now, I'll share with you a few images and videos from my family & friends. I have to say a big THANK YOU again to all of you that shared this special day with us. We appreciate it so much and Tinley, Justin, and I are lucky to have you in our lives! :o)


Opening gifts

My pretty girl!

Waiting for everyone to arrive

Waiting for cake

The cake table

All we need is the birthday girl!

Her giant cupcake!

The cupcakes

Waiting for everyone to arrive

Chillin' after her party

Her new big girl carseat! Each grandma bought one!


She loves her new bath toy from Sam and Jeff!


Watch her cake smash here:

She even shared with Daddy:

A little clip of gift unwrapping:





Thursday, January 24, 2013

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Happy Birthday Tinley!

Well, today is the day. Our sweet baby girl is 1. A whole year old. I can't believe it! It feels like just yesterday we were checking into the hospital, being escorted to our room by our good friend, Carrie, and I was getting hooked up the all the machines and IV's. Everyone always tells you it goes by so fast, but you never realize HOW FAST until it's your own life. And trust me, mine is flying by. 

Saturday is the big bash. Her first birthday party! My parents arrived last night, and Justin's parents arrive this evening. Today and tomorrow, we're running last minute errands in preparation, but everything is pretty much ready to go. I am so excited. Probably more so than Tinley is! But, I think that's normal. I've probably gotten a little carried away with everything, but hey, she only turns 1 once, right?! I can't wait to share with you all the pictures of the big day, but for now, here are her monthly pictures.








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